Polityka zagraniczna Unii Europejskiej: aspekty teoretyczne i metodologiczne

Article is devoted to theoretical and methodological aspects of the foreign policy of the European Union. These refl ections come from the basic assumption that the EU, as a unique participant of international relations, has developed a specific sphere of regulating its relations with the outside world, which essentially corresponds to the foreign policy of the state. This sphere, as an unprecedented phenomenon in the international arena, however, is characterized by great indefi niteness in terms of both theoretical and methodological, as well as political practice, which include, inter alia, such basic issues as the scope and conceptual definition of this policy. The article attempts to explore the most important issues related to the specificity of EU foreign policy (in particular the relationship between the EU institutions and Member States) and proposes a definition of this policy, treated as so-called European Union’s external policy.